Preface: The Jonathan J. King Lectureship was established in 1991 to encourage the compassionate
and humane care of all patients. A gifted computer scientist by profession and a philosopher by inclination,
Dr. King was above all a humanist with a deep concern for the dignity of individuals. Three weeks before
dying from cancer at age 41 on April 8, 1991, Dr. King defined key messages he wished to bring to the medical
community through the lecture series. He hoped that the lectureship would communicate the need to empathize
with patients and the need to provide the patients with hope, a measure of control, comfort and physical
support including the need to hasten attempts to apply promising but unproven treatments for patients
diagnosed with life-threatening conditions. A
short 5 minute video of Jonathan King was shown describing his vision for patient care.
Then Prof. David ? introduced Eavan Boland as the author of eight books of poetry and the
13th Annual Jonathan King Lecturer.

Eavan Boland concluded her lecture with her poem "Tree of Life"

POEM: by Eavan Boland specially composed for the
National Maternity Hospital remembrance service in November 1994

Tree of Life

A tree on a moonless night
has no sap or colour.

It has no flower and no fruit.
It waits for the sun to find them.
I cannot find you
in this dark hour
dear child

wait
for dawn
to make us clear to one another.

Let the sun
inch above the rooftops.

Let love be the light that shows again
the blossom to the root.

Q & A Session:

Q: Is there any current poetry activities at the Stanford Hospital?
A: I don't know. I recall Adrienne Rich did some poetry here.

Q: What was it like for the group listening to each other?
A: The main thing of the group was people helping each other with their grief.

Q: What's the goal of religious attitudes of the griefing parents?
A: Some parents believed they could pray. There was no religious preferences.
There was a Muslim in the group.

Q: What was the time period of the parents who had lost a baby in the group?
A: Some had miscarriages for four weeks, some came after 2 days.

Q: How was it for you emotionally to be in the group?
A: My grief can't compare with the parents. I was honored to be there.

Q: Where can we find your "Tree of Life" poem?
A: It's in The Lost Land [Norton, 1998]
[Stanford Library: PR6052.035.L67.1998;
Cited by Archdiocese of Dublin]

Q: Did the group do any writing during their meetings?
A: Some wrote, some didn't. The power of loss, the humanity which the parents
spoke for their dead babies were quite moving.

Q: Is the opportunity to bring one's dead baby home still ongoing?
A: Some parents accepted the offer. I'm sure it's still ongoing.

The Q & A Session ended at 6:10 pm. A reception was held in the lobby of Fairchild Auditorium.